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fall soups

Butternut squash soup

 From Around the world, Healthy choice, Soups, Vegetarian, Weeknight Dinners  3 Responses »
Oct 152010
 
butternut squash soup

“I am rich today with autumn’s gold,
All that my covetous hands can hold;
Frost-painted leaves and goldenrod,
A goldfinch on a milkweed pod,
Huge golden pumpkins in the field
With heaps of corn from a bounteous yield,
Golden apples heavy on the trees
Rivaling those of Hesperides,
Golden rays of balmy sunshine spread
Over all like butter on warm bread;
And the harvest moon will this night unfold
The streams running full of molten gold.
Oh, who could find a dearth of bliss
with autumn glory such as this!”
-   Gladys Harp

A walk by the Harper Lake in Louisville treated me to the music of crisp crunchy leaves. What fine music they make along with the blowing wind and what a pretty site it is to see. The breeze making waves on the water, the setting sun in the not so distant mountains and everything so golden that it feels like a gentle kiss from the sun.

I felt like extending that kiss from the sun and bring it inside my home. So I made this butternut squash soup and served it with homemade rustic bread. I had planned for leftovers for my lunch, but sometimes plans don’t work. Hubz and kid finished the soup mumbling some words between spoonfuls. I am thinking they were saying that it was good because we had no leftovers.

Here is how I made it

Plan:

  • 1 butternut squash, cut into two lengthwise
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, sliced thin
  • 1 Tsp garlic chopped
  • 4 cups veg stock
  • ½ C milk
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Fresh basil, chopped fine
  • 1 tsp sugar

Procedure

  1. Cut the squash lengthwise into two. Pre Heat oven to 400F . Place squash cut side down on a pan. Bake for 35- 40 min
  2. Once cooked, allow to cool. Scoop out the meaty part and leave the skin out.
  3. Add oil in a pan, cook sliced onions and then add garlic
  4. Add the stock, salt if u need, bring it to a boil add the squash, blend with a hand blender until the soup comes together.
  5. Add the milk, allow it to come to a boil, add the pepper, basil, sugar.. mix.
  6. Serve with a rustic bread and herbs mixed in olive oil . Add a Salad if you need.

 

Leek and Potato soup

 From Around the world, Healthy choice, slow cooker, Soups, vegan, Vegetarian  9 Responses »
Sep 072010
 
wpset

With fall almost making its way in the mountains, there is a slight nip in the air at night. With the temperatures still in their high 80’s and low 90’s you would think summer is still young. The turning colors of the Maple and Aspen trees in my backyard have another story to tell. Their leaves are slowly turning and some of them have started to fall. So officially, for our family the soup season is back.

The Hubz and the Kid love their soups piping hot and I love making them because they are nutritious, easy to make and I can make almost all of them in the slow cooker. And it is a very nice way to get the vegetables that they don’t really like to eat into their system without them knowing it.

Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale.
-   Elsa Schiaparelli

Featured today is a very healthy low calorie soup. More on Health benefits of leeks here and of Potatoes here . I usually make a large batch of this in a slow cooker, so we can enjoy the leftovers for a mid morning snack. I also make it in a pressure cooker when I am in a hurry to cook or I make it the traditional way, in a Dutch oven. You can use any methods you find convenient. It tastes great anyway you make it!

Makes 6 cups

Special equipment: Slow cooker/pressure cooker & a Hand blender/food pro

Before cooking: Wash the leeks thoroughly; chop roughly. Peel the potatoes and dice them into small cubes

Plan:

  • 4              leeks, white part only, chopped
  • 2              medium sized golden potatoes
  • 1 tsp      extra virgin olive oil (cold pressed preferably)
  • 2              cloves of garlic, chopped fine
  • 5 C          low sodium organic vegetable stock
  • ¼ tsp     dried parsley ( or any other herb you like)
  • ½ tsp     freshly ground black pepper
  • Salt         (IF NEEDED)
  • ¼ C         carrots cut into thin strips

Procedure

Pressure cooker method:

  1. Heat up your favorite pressure cooker, add oil and immediately add the leeks, potatoes and garlic.
  2. Stir for a minute or so. Add the stock and bring everything to a boil.
  3. Place lid on the cooker, and cook for 4 minutes on medium heat (timings based on a Futura pressure cooker )
  4. Switch off heat, allow the pressure inside the cooker to come out on its own. The food is still being cooked in the pressure cooker and we do not want to stop the process.
  5. Once the pressure is let out, open the cooker and using a hand blender, puree the soup.
  6. Add the carrots and the herbs and stir .
  7. Reheat, adjust seasonings, and serve hot.

Slow Cooker Method:

  1. Take a saucepan, and heat it up on medium heat. Add oil and immediately add the leeks, potatoes and garlic.
  2. Stir for a minute or so. Add the stock and bring everything to a boil.
  3. Transfer the contents to a slow cooker, set the timer for 7 hours on slow.
  4. When you are ready to serve the soup, Puree it in a food pro or transfer the contents into a stockpot and use a hand blender.
  5. Add the carrots and the herbs and stir.
  6. Reheat, adjust seasonings, and serve hot

The Dutch Oven Method

  1. Take a saucepan or dutchoven, and heat it up on medium heat. Add oil and immediately add the leeks, potatoes and garlic.
  2. Cook for about 8 – 10 minutes. Add the stock and bring everything to a boil on high heat.
  3. Place the lid on the the pot, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 35 – 40 minutes or until all the veggies are soft.
  4. Using a hand blender, puree the soup.
  5. Add the carrots and the herbs and stir .
  6. Reheat, adjust seasonings, and serve hot.